Lawn mower



Dec. 27, 1949 F. E. BROWNING LAWN MOWER Filed May 16, 1947 Patented Dec. 27, 1949 Frederick :Edwerd Brom ne. Vancouver. Brit sh Golumbia, Canada minimum May 16., 1947, Serial .No. "14838? *6 Elaine.

This invention relates to improvements inilawn mowers.

An object .of the present iinventionds the eurovision of .a lawn mower in which :the cutting mechanism is so mounted that :it :floats over the ground, that is, it rides over .unevensground 'with out digging into it and without transferring the motion to the handle.

Another object is the :prov-ision of :alawn mower in which the cutting bladesare u'otatedibyipower. and in which the bed knife may the .easilyndjusted in relation to said :blades.

A further object is the :provision of ;a mower of the type described'whi'ohimayfoefinstantly ad- J'usted to cutrgrass to various lengths.

With these and other iobjeotsrinwiew, -the present invention consists essentiallyrof .alawh mower comprising a pair of side wheels, :a transverse shaft carried by the wheels, a blade zreelmioun'ted on the shaft, means .for rotating blade .reel, and a transverse bed :kniie pivotally suspended from the shaft adjacent the reel :as more :fully described in the following specification and 'il-.- lustrated in the accompanying-drawings. in which Figure 1 is a front-.elevationzof the lawnmower,

Figure 2 is-a sideelevation with "the mear :wheel removed,

Figure 3 is an enlargedzfragmentary transverse section,

Figure 4 is a cross section taken :on the line 44 of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is an exploded "viewiefthemants of one side of the device.

As the construction Of thismaehine is the same on bothsides, only onesicle .nowherdescribed in detail for the sake of clarity, A side wheel I ll is rotatably mounted on a stub shaft l I which projects outwardly from -a cross her l! substantially midway between the ends thereof. The forward end of this bar is free while the rearward end is ivotally mounted at 43 on a vertical :side flap ['4 of a substantially horizontal platform l5 extending from side to side of the machine and having'a flap at each end thereof. The free end of the bar I2 is connected to the worresponding bar on the other side :by bar 45 "which 'extends along and is spaced from the front of the platform. This rod has a latch I! which removably engages any one of a plurality of notches in a standard I8 mounted on the front edge of the platform adjustably to retain the latter in position.

An adjusting arm 24 is pivotally mounted at its forward end on the outer surface of the flap H near its front edge by a pin 25. The rearward .2 end .0! the adjusting smm has an rarcu'ate :slot 226 formed therein, through "which as. bolt :2?! extends from the side .flap. .An adjusting :nut .38 threaded ion this "bolt to hold the arm 24 in-iposi tion. .A shaft .or axle .29 :iszsecured to dahe adjusting arm approximately half way rhetweenzitsiends and extends transversely the machine to the :opposite adjusting arm. Thisshaft unay he :iixed to these arms, as shown, or it may be journalled m bearings carried thereby.

An adjusting plate 34' :is located inside the flap l4 and has a central hearing 35 through which .the shaft 29 rotatahly extends. A side :plate -31 is mounted inside the plate 34. side plate has an elongated slot .38 formed therein through which the shaft 2-9 .ireely extends. This side plate is pivotallyhonnected to "the adjusting plate attheir forward ends by-apin 39. The side plate has an arcuate slot 40 near its after end through which an vad'justing bolt 44 extends from the plate 34 :adjustably to .holdsaid plates together,

.A blade reel 4-5 of any desired type of construction is rotatably mounted between the opposed side plates .31 on the-shaftor-axle zen the latter is fixed, or if it is rotatable, said reel is fixed thereto. A sprocket 46 on the shaft is mounted to rotate the blade reel either by being connected thereto or fixed to the shat-t, depending upon whether or not the latter is rotatable. A transverse bed :kllife All is carried by the plates 31 immediately below the reel 45,, .andcooperates therewith to cut the grass in the usual manner. .A roller .50 is also harried by the side plates behind the bed knife and is adapted to roll :over the ground for grass.

A handle 52 is pivotally carried by the brackets 53. An-electricmotor -54zis mounted on thematform l5 and is connectedtorotatethe blade reel in any suitable manner. vI1 desired. a, gasoline motor may :be substituted :for this electric motor. In this example, a sprocket 56 :isrotated .by motor, and this sprocket is connected to the sprocket 46 by a chain 51 which extends through a slot 58 in the platform.

While a hand-operated .lawn mower is shown, it is to be understood that itmight he a newer machine, in which case. the vmotor would he oneratively connected to the wheels in any suitable manner.

In operation, the motor 54 turns the blade reel to cut the grass in the usual way as the mower is moved over said grass. The rotation of the reel assists the movement of the mower.

As the roller rides over uneven ground, the bed knife 49 moves with it without changing its affected by this movement.

plates to move said knife towards or away from the blades, said side plates pivoting on the pins 39. The chain 51 may be tightened or loosened by loosening the nut 23 and lowering or raising the platform on its pivots 25. Theadjusting arms 24 carry the shaft 29 and all the other elements de-' pending therefrom.

It is a very simple matter to set the machine to cut the grass at any desired height above the ground. The latch H is released and the platform raised or lowered on the pivots i3. This raises and lowers the entire apparatus in relation to the stub shafts H which are always retained the same distance above the ground by the wheels Hi. When the platform is adjusted in this manner, the forward ends of the side plates 3?. are raised or. lowered and while the roller 56 remains on the ground, said plates pivot on it so that the bed knife is raised or lowered.

' I claim:

1. A lawn mower comprising a pair of side wheels, a platform carried by the Wheels, a transverse shaft suspended from the platform, a blade reel mounted on the shaft, a motor mounted on the platform operatively connected to the blade reel to rotate the latter, a transverse bed knife suspended from the shaft adjacent the reel, and a roller mounted behind the bed knife to move therewith, said roller being adaptedto rest on the ground.

2. A lawn mower comprising a pair of side wheels, a stub shaft for each wheel upon which it rotates, a cross bar connected substantially midway between its ends to each stub shaft, a-platform pivotally mounted at its rear edge on the rearward ends of said cross bars, means for*ad justably connecting the forward edge of the platform to the forward'ends of the cross bars, a transverse shaft adjustably suspended from the platform, a blade reel mounted on the shaft, a motor mounted on the platform operatively connected to the blade reel to rotate the latter, a transverse bed knife supported adjacent the reel independent of the platform, and a roller mounted behind the bed knife.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which the means for connecting the forward edge ofthe platform to the forward edges of the cross bars, comprises a rod connecting the ends of the bars, said rod being spaced-from the front of the platform and a latch on the rod, said latch being adapted removably to engage any one of a plurality of notches on the platform.

4. A lawn mower comprising a pair of side wheels, a stub shaft for each wheel upon which it rotates, a cross bar connected substantially mid way between'its ends to each stub shaft, a platform pivotally mounted at its rear edge on a r 5. A lawn mower comprising a pair of side Wheels, a stub shaft for each wheel upon which it rotates, across bar connected substantially mid Way between its ends to each stub shaft, a platform pivotally'mounted at its rear edge on the rearward ends of said cross bars, means for adjustably connecting the forward edge of the platform to the forward ends of the cross bars, a transverse shaft adjustably suspended from the platform, a blade reel mounted on the shaft, a motor mounted on the platform operatively connectedto the blade reel to rotate the latter, adjusting plates pivotally mounted substantially midway between their ends on the shaft on each side of the reel, a side plate beside each adjusting plate pivotally connected thereto at their forward ends, said side plates having elongated slots therein through which the shaft freely extends, means for adjustably securing said plates together at their rearward ends, a transverse bed knife carried by the side plates adjacent the reel, and a roller mounted on said side plates behind the bed knife adapted to rest on the ground.

6. A lawn mower comprising a pair of side wheels, a platform carried by the wheels, an, adjusting arm pivotally mounted at its forward end on each side of the platform, means for adjustably connecting the opposite ends of the adjusting arms to the platform, a transverse shaft carried by the adjusting arms substantially mid way between the ends thereof, a blade reel mounted on the shaft, a sprocket on the shaft for rotating the reel, a motor on the platform, a sprocket adapted to be turned by said motor, a chain connecting the two sprockets, a transverse bed knife suspended from the shaft adjacent the reel, said bed knife being free of the adjusting arms, and a roller mounted behind and connected to the bed knife.

' FREDERICK EDWARD BROWNING.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 1, 1932 

